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Abstract:

While both migration and welfare states are popular topics of research, the intersection
between them is rarely studied. In this article, we present the findings of a study that explored
migrant workers? conceptualisation of `social protection? and their relationship with the Irish
welfare state. The main foci of analysis for the purposes of this article are the migrant workers?
understandings, experiences and expectations regarding their social protection and the welfare
state. While our findings hint at the presence of many migrant workers who are very poorly
anchored into and even completely detached from the Irish welfare state, they also reveal
complex and ambivalent attitudes towards component parts of the social protection system.
While the findings presented here stem from a qualitative study in a single country, we
hypothesise that similar patterns can be identified among the migrant populations in other,
particularly liberal, welfare states.